Memory card connectable to a telephone

ABSTRACT

There is provided a key telephone system which can use data registered in a memory card. The system comprises: a main apparatus which has a memory and operates in accordance with the data stored in the memory; and an extension telephone having a receiving circuit to receive data from a memory card, wherein the main apparatus stores the data which was received by the extension telephone from the memory card into the memory. With this system, data such as names, denominations, telephone numbers, and the like of the partners can be registered into a portable device such as a memory card by the keyboard of the extension telephone or by the keyboard of the portable device at a remote location at an arbitrary time.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/553,647filed Jul. 18, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,414.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a telephone system which can use dataregistered in a memory card.

2. Related Background Art

Hitherto, in a telephone apparatus or a facsimile apparatus, thefunctions such as abbreviated dialing, one-touch dialing, and the likeare provided. On the other hand, there are limitations in the number ofabbreviated dialing telephone numbers and the number of one-touchdialing telephone numbers which can be registered in the apparatus mainbody itself. Therefore, there is also a system in which a portableelectronic notebook is provided separately from the apparatus main body,abbreviated dialing telephone numbers and one-touch dialing telephonenumbers are previously registered in the electronic notebook, and adesired telephone number in the electronic notebook is converted into aPB tone and transferred from the electronic notebook to the apparatusmain body side, thereby dialing.

On the other hand, in the electronic notebook as mentioned above, theoperations to register and access data into/from the electronic notebookitself are executed by various operation buttons provided for theelectronic notebook. That is, in the case of executing an originatingcall by using such an electronic notebook, the various operation buttonsprovided on the surface of the electronic notebook are observed by theeyes and data is transferred to the telephone side while operating theoperation buttons.

On the other hand, since the size of such an electronic notebook issmall, the sizes of operation buttons provided on the surface are alsosmall, so that there is a drawback such that the operability is bad.

In addition, hitherto, in a telephone exchange or a button telephoneapparatus, it is necessary to set a number of operating modes which aredifferent depending on the users.

For instance, there are operating modes such as a mode to set anextension telephone which should be allowed to ring in response to aterminating call to a certain local line, a mode to set the time or thelike, and a mode to set the abbreviated dialing data, and the like. In alarge scale exchange, it is necessary to set an extremely large numberof modes.

The above data inputting operations are executed by either the user onthe basis of the operation manual or the sales person as a kind ofservice. Particularly, since the ordinary user is unfamiliar with thedata inputting operations, it takes a long time to input the data and anerroneous setting can easily occur.

However, in such a conventional technique, as the service functions ofthe telephone system increase, it is troublesome to input necessarydata, so that there are the following drawbacks.

(1) For a sales person, his valuable time is expended to input the dataand such data inputting operations become a large burden.

(2) For the user, when he requests for a sales person to input or changedata, the user must wait for the visit of the sales person and, afterthat, the user must describe the contents in detail to the sales person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to improve the operability of atelephone or a telephone system.

Another object of the invention is to improve the operability of aportable device which can be set to a telephone and can be used.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a system in whichdata can be registered into a portable device from a keyboard of atelephone and, further, at a location away from the telephone, data canbe registered from the keyboard of the portable device.

Further another object of the invention is to provide a key telephonesystem in which an extension terminal operates in accordance with datawhich was received from a memory card.

Further another object of the invention is to provide a key telephonesystem in which various data can be set into the main apparatus from amemory card through an extension terminal.

Further another object of the invention is to provide an originatingcall apparatus for executing an originating call to the ISDN in responseto a photo signal from a card.

The above and other objects and features of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description and the appendedclaims with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing outside appearances of an extensiontelephone of a telephone system and an electronic notebook according tothe first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the outline of the system of the firstembodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing internal constructions of an extensioninterface card 22 and an extension telephone 1 which are provided forthe system of the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing LED light-on patterns of theelectronic notebook in the system of the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart in the case where the electronic notebook in thesystem of the first embodiment is used;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a burst data format in aping-pong transmitting method between the telephone and the mainapparatus in the system of the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing outside appearances of an extensiontelephone of a telephone system and an electronic notebook according tothe second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing internal constructions of an extensioninterface card and an extension telephone which are provided for thesystem of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9, consisting of FIGS. 9A and 9B, is a flowchart for explaining theoperation in the case where the electronic notebook in the system of thesecond embodiment is used;

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an example of the display of transmissiondata which is registered into the electronic notebook in the system ofthe second embodiment; and

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an example of the display of setting datawhich is registered into the electronic notebook in the system of thesecond embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing outside appearances of an extensiontelephone 1 of a telephone system and an electronic notebook 3 in thefirst embodiment of the invention.

In the telephone system of the embodiment, a plurality of extensiontelephones 1 and a local line are selectively connected by a mainapparatus, which will be explained hereinlater.

In FIG. 1, an electronic notebook attaching portion 2 is formed on thefront surface of the extension telephone 1. The attaching portion 2 isformed into a rectangular concave shape corresponding to the outerperipheral shape of the electronic notebook 3. The electronic notebook 3is attached onto the attaching portion 2. The attaching portion 2 isprovided with: an electronic notebook detection switch 4 comprising amicroswitch or the like; and an infrared LED light reception unit 5comprising seven phototransistors.

On the other hand, the telephone 1 is provided with: setting keys 6 toset various setting data to an exchange or the telephone; a liquidcrystal display unit 7 to display a dial number or the like; dial keys 8to input a dial number; local line keys 9 to select a local line; andthe like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the outline of the system of theembodiment.

A main apparatus 12 encloses therein an analog local line 10 and an ISDNlocal line 11. An analog interface 14 and a digital interface 15 toexecute the interface with each of the local lines 10 and 11, a timeswitch 16, a main CPU 17, an ROM 18, and an RAM 19 are installed on amain board 13. The main CPU 17 controls each section in accordance withthe data stored in the ROM 18 and RAM 19.

On the other hand, three extension interface cards 22 to 24 are providedfor the main apparatus 12. The cards 22 to 24 are controlled by the mainCPU 17 through a control line 21. A highway 20 is arranged between thetime switch 16 and the cards 22 to 24 and is connected to each oftelephones 1a, 1b, 1c, . . . through extension transmission paths 25.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing internal constructions of theextension interface card 22 and the extension telephone 1.

The card 22 has: a CPU 26 for the extension interface card, an ROM 27;an RAM 28; and an LSI (master) 29 for extension communication.

On the other hand, the extension telephone 1 has: an LSI (slave) 30 forextension communication; a CODEC 31; a one-chip CPU (having thereinports, an ROM, and an RAM) 32; a telephone receiver 33; a key matrix 37;and an oscillation circuit 39. On the other hand, the foregoingelectronic notebook detection switch 4, infrared LED light receptionunit 5, liquid crystal display unit 7, and the like are provided for theextension telephone 1.

The electronic notebook 3 in the embodiment has a function to registerthe names or denominations of the partners and the telephone numberscorresponding thereto. In the embodiment, the setting data is alsosimilarly registered.

In addition, various input keys such as ten-key, search key,registration key, and the like and a display unit are provided on thesurface of the electronic notebook 3. Further, seven infrared LEDs areprovided on the back surface of the notebook 3. By lighting on and offthe seven infrared LEDs in accordance with patterns as shown in FIG. 4,data is transmitted to the infrared LED light reception unit 5 in acontactless manner.

There are the following setting data.

(1) Type of line

0: The outside line is connected to the analog public circuit network.(reversible)

1: The outside line is connected to the analog public circuit network.(unreversible)

2: The outside line is connected to the private exchange. (reversible)

3: The outside line is connected to the private exchange. (unreversible)

4: The outside line is connected to the ISDN.

5: Nothing is connected to the outside line.

(2) Dialing method

0: Tone

1: Pulse (10 pps)

2: Pulse (20 pps)

3: Code (ISDN)

(3) Terminating call sound

1: Terminating call sound 1

2: Terminating call sound 2

(4) Terminal numbers of the telephones in which a concentratedterminating call is executed

(5) DIL (Direct in-line)

1: Executed

2: Not executed

(6) Terminal numbers of the telephones in which the DIL is executed

(7) The necessary time until the released line is again captured

0: 1.5 seconds

1: 2.5 seconds

The above seven data are set into the electronic notebook 3 for thelocal lines 10 and 11. For instance,

10=0214140,

11=4325150

The above data means that the local line 10 is set in the followingmanner.

Analog public circuit network (reversible),

Pulse (20 pps),

Terminating call sound 1,

The terminal No. of the telephone in which the concentrated terminatingcall is executed is 4,

The DIL is executed,

The terminal No. is 4,

1.5 seconds.

The local line 20 is set in the following manner.

ISDN,

Code,

Terminating call sound 2,

The terminal No. is 5,

The DIL is executed,

The terminal No. is 5,

1.5 seconds.

Obviously, the above modes can be set at arbitrary location and timeirrespective of the telephone system. That is, the sales person who haspreviously heard the contents to be set from the user of the telephonesystem can also register before he visits the user.

An operating method when transferring data to the telephone and itsinternal operation will now be described.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation when the electronic notebookin the telephone system is used.

First, the user turns on the power source on the telephone system side.Then, the electronic notebook 3 is put onto the attaching portion 2 ofthe master telephone 1 having a special extension No. (in theembodiment, the telephone of the extension No. 00). In this state, theone-chip CPU 32 of the telephone system detects by the detection switch4 that the notebook 3 has been placed (S1).

When the operator depresses the setting key 6 of the telephone in thisstate (S2), the processing routine advances to the setting mode (S3) andthe CPU 32 in the telephone 1 recognizes that the data which issubsequently sent is the setting data instead of the telephone number.

Then, the user searches the setting data which was registered asmentioned above.

The setting mode is selected by depressing the mode key on theelectronic notebook 3 a few times. A "TEL" key on the notebook 3 isdepressed. When the notebook 3 detects the depression of the "TEL" key,the lighting-on operations of the infrared LEDs are executed inaccordance with the pattern shown in FIG. 4 corresponding to the numeraland symbol of the setting data.

The infrared LED light reception unit 5 detects the light-on of theinfrared LEDs (S4). The result of the detection is converted into theelectric signal and input to a port provided in the CPU 32. In the CPU32, a table similar to that shown in FIG. 4 has previously been providedin the ROM. On the basis of this table, the CPU 32 decodes the datawhich was input from the light reception unit 5 (S5). Further, the CPU32 converts the data in accordance with a predetermined format for thesetting data (S6). The converted data is sent to the main CPU 17.

The communication among the main CPU 17, the highway 20, and theextension telephone 1 is executed by the ping-pong transmitting method.

That is, a burst of a format shown in FIG. 6 reciprocates on two cables.In FIG. 6, audio data is stored in B₁ and B₂ channels and transmitted.The control data between the main CPU 17 and the telephone 1, that is,the above converted setting data and the like are stored in a D₁ channeland transmitted. On the other hand, a D₂ channel is provided as a sparechannel. Data transmission rates of the channels are set to 64 kbps forthe B₁ and B₂ channels and to 16 kbps for the D₁ and D₂ channels. On theother hand, one transmission period of the burst is set to 125 μsec.

After the power source was turned on, the main CPU 17 executes thepolling to the extension telephone 1. When the one-chip CPU 32 of thetelephone 1 receives the polling, if data to be transmitted to the mainCPU 17 exists, the CPU 32 stores the data into the D₁ channel. Thesetting data which has already been decoded is also sent from the D₁channel. That is, after the one-chip CPU 32 had received the settingdata from the electronic notebook 3 and finished the conversion into apredetermined format, if the CPU 32 receives the polling from the mainCPU 17, the CPU 32 stores the data into the D₁ channel. When the mainCPU 17 receives such a data, the CPU 17 determines that the receptiondata is the setting data on the basis of the data format and updates thecontent at the corresponding memory location in the RAM 19 in whichvarious setting data have been stored (S7).

As mentioned above, various setting data can be easily set.

The operating method and the operation when transmitting data by usingthe electronic notebook 3 will now be described.

In this case, after the electronic notebook 3 was put onto the attachingportion 2, the setting key 6 of the telephone 1 is not depressed in stepS2.

Due to this, the transmission mode is selected (S8). For instance, ifthe operator wants to transmit data to Mr. AOKI, he depresses the searchkey on the electronic notebook 3 a few times and selects the term of"AOKI". After the operator selected the line by depressing the localline key 9, he depresses the "TEL" key of the electronic notebook 3. Theelectronic notebook 3 which detected the depression of the "TEL" keylights on the infrared LEDs of the pattern shown in FIG. 4 correspondingto the telephone number.

The infrared LED light reception unit 5 detects the light-on operationsof the LEDs (S9) and converts the result of the detection into theelectric signal and inputs to the port provided in the CPU 32.

The CPU 32 decodes the input data on the basis of the table shown inFIG. 4 which has previously been stored in the ROM (S10). Further, theCPU 32 converts the data in accordance with a predetermined format asthe data for transmission (S11). The converted data is sent to the mainCPU 17 in a manner similar to the case of the setting data mentionedabove.

In the case where the line selected by the operator relates to an analognetwork, the main CPU 17 transmits a dial pulse or a dial tone inaccordance with the received data. On the other hand, if the selectedline is a digital network, the CPU 17 sends a SETUP message inaccordance with the received data (S12). At this time, the main CPU 17reads out the dialing method from the RAM 19 in response to thedepressed local line key 9 and executes an originating call inaccordance with the read dialing method.

The transmitting operation can be easily and conveniently executed asmentioned above.

In the above first embodiment, the communication between the electronicnotebook 3 and the telephone 1 has been executed by lighting on theseven LEDs. However, the similar effect can be also expected even byanother construction.

For instance, even if a construction to transmit and receive an electricsignal is provided between the electronic notebook 3 and the telephone1, data can be sent to the telephone in a serial or parallel dataformat. As a construction to transmit and receive the electric signal,it is possible to use a construction of the contactless type using atransformer coupling or a construction in which electrodes come intocontact with each other.

On the other hand, a circuit to generate an voice frequency band signalsuch as MF signal, PB signal, or the like is provided for the electronicnotebook, and data can be also transmitted by acoustic means.

Further, in the first embodiment, the electronic notebook detectionbutton has been used to detect the electronic notebook. However, thesimilar effect can be also expected even by using an optical sensor.

In addition to the telephone, a terminal to communicate image data canbe also used as an extension terminal.

The invention is not limited to the key telephone but can be alsoapplied to a single line telephone which is directly connected to thepublic circuit.

According to the embodiment, since data can be set by using theelectronic notebook which is provided separately from the apparatus mainbody, data can be input at an arbitrary location irrespective of theposition where the telephone system was installed. Therefore, data canbe input at a desired time of the operator and the business efficiencycan be raised.

On the other hand, the sales person prepares an electronic notebook inwhich a plurality of different setting data have been registered andslightly changes the data which is nearest to a demand of the user amongthe previously registered plurality of kinds of data, so that he canfurther easily and conveniently input the data. Thus, the businessefficiency can be also raised.

Moreover, if the user preliminarily informs a desired setting content tothe sales person by using a facsimile apparatus or the like when theuser wants to request the sales person to input or change the data, whenthe sales person visits the user, the data can be soon input or changedby the sales person. As mentioned above, according to the embodiment, anadvantage such as improvement of the services can be obtained.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing outside appearances of an extensiontelephone 51 of a telephone system and an electronic notebook 53according to the second embodiment of the invention.

In the telephone system of the second embodiment, a plurality ofextension telephones 51 and a local line are selectively connected by amain apparatus, which will be explained hereinlater.

In FIG. 7, an electronic notebook attaching hole 52 is formed in theside portion of the extension telephone 51. The attaching hole 52 isformed into a slit shape adapted to insert the electronic notebook 53.By inserting the electronic notebook 53 from the hole 52, the electronicnotebook 53 can be set into the attaching portion in the telephone 51.The attaching portion is provided with: an electronic notebook detectionswitch comprising a microswitch or the like; a positioning mechanism ofthe electronic notebook 53; contacts to transmit and receive data withthe electronic notebook 53; and the like.

On the other hand, the telephone 51 comprises: a first notebook key 54to register data into the electronic notebook 53; a second notebook key55 to transfer data from the electronic notebook 53; a search key 68 tosearch the data in the electronic notebook 53; a setting key 56 to setvarious setting data into the exchange or the telephone; a liquidcrystal display unit 57 to display a dial number or the like; dial keys58 to input a dial number; local line keys 59 to select the local line;and the like.

The outline of the telephone system of the second embodiment is commonto FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 shows constructions of the extension interface card 22 and theextension telephone 51. In FIG. 8, the parts and components which arecommon to those in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals.Reference numeral 36 denotes the electronic notebook interface havingcontacts to communicate with the electronic notebook 53.

On the other hand, various input keys such as ten-key, search key,registration keys, and the like and a display unit are provided on thesurface of the electronic notebook 53. Various data can be registered bythe sole electronic notebook. Further, contacts which come into contactwith the contacts on the side of the telephone 51 are provided for theelectronic notebook 53.

The names or denominations of the partners and the telephone numberscorresponding thereto are previously registered in the electronicnotebook 53 in the second embodiment. In the embodiment, the settingdata for the main apparatus is also similarly registered.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation in the case where theelectronic notebook in the telephone system is used.

The method of inputting data into the electronic notebook 53 will now bedescribed.

First, the registering method of ordinary names of persons and theirtelephone numbers will be explained. To input alphabetic characters bythe ten-key 58, it is sufficient to assign such that "01" to "A", "02"to "B", and the like.

For instance, if the name which the operator wants to register is "AOKI"and the telephone number is "123-4567", the electronic notebook 53 isattached (S31) and the first notebook key 54 is depressed (S33). Thus,the mode to transfer data from the telephone 51 to the side of theelectronic notebook 53 is set (S34). After that, the buttons aredepressed in accordance with the following order (S35).

*, 0, 1, 1, 5, 1, 1, #, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, #

On the other hand, in association with the operations of the buttons asmentioned above, contents as shown in FIG. 10 are displayed in theliquid crystal display unit 57 of the telephone 51 (S36).

With reference to the display contents, the user confirms that the inputdata is correct (S37) and depresses the first notebook key 54 (S38), sothat the CPU 32 transfers the data to the electronic notebook 53 (S39).The data is stored into the RAM in the electronic notebook 53 (S40). Thedata transmitting method from the telephone 51 to the electronicnotebook 53 is based on a start-stop synchronizing method. The dataformat is based on the JIS code.

The method of registering setting data into the telephone system willnow be described.

First, the electronic notebook 53 is attached (S31) and the firstnotebook key 54 is depressed (S33), so that the mode to transfer datafrom the telephone 51 to the electronic notebook 53 side is set (S34).If the data to be set is similar to that in the first embodiment, thebuttons are depressed in accordance with the following order (S35).

*, *, 1, 0, #, 0, 2, 1, 4, 1, 4, 0

"01" indicates the registration data number and "0214140" represents thesetting data. After that, in a manner similar to the telephone number,the setting data is stored into the RAM in the electronic notebook 53(S40).

Many setting data can be registered by the above procedure.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an example of the display contents of thedisplay unit 57 when the setting data mentioned above was registered.

The above setting operation can be also obviously executed at arbitrarylocation and time irrespective of the position of the telephone systeminstalled.

The operating method and the operation when data is transferred to thetelephone will now be described.

First, the user attaches the electronic notebook 53 (S31) and depressesthe second notebook key 55 (S32), so that the mode to transfer the datafrom the electronic notebook 53 to the telephone 51 side is set (S41).

The one-chip CPU 32 requires the data transfer to the electronicnotebook 53 through the electronic notebook interface 36.

On the other hand, the data selected at this time point on the side ofthe electronic notebook 53 is transferred to the telephone 51 side (S42)and displayed in the display unit 57 (S43). Now, when the user depressesthe search key 68 (S14), the CPU 32 requires the transfer of the nextdata to the electronic notebook 53 through the interface 36. In responseto the request from the CPU 32, the electronic notebook 53 outputs thedata registered in the next memory area. The CPU 32 allows the inputdata to be displayed in the display unit 57 through the interface 36. Asmentioned above, the other data can be selected. After confirming thatthe desired data was selected and displayed, if the setting operation ofthe telephone system is executed by the selected data, by depressing thesetting key 56 (S45), the CPU 32 converts the data in accordance with apreset setting data format (S46) and sends to the main CPU 17.

The main CPU 17 recognizes that the reception data is the setting dataon the basis of the data format and updates the contents in the RAM 19on the basis of the setting data (S47).

On the other hand, in the case of transmitting by the data from theelectronic notebook 53, the operator depresses the local line key 59(S48). Thus, the CPU 32 converts the data into a predeterminedtransmission data format (S49) and sends to the main CPU 17. The datatransmission is executed on the basis of the data.

The communication among the main CPU 17, the time switch 16, and theextension telephone 51 is executed by the ping-pong transmitting method.

That is, a burst of the format shown in FIG. 6 reciprocates on twocables. In FIG. 6, the voice data is stored into the B₁ and B₂ channelsand transmitted. The control data between the main CPU 17 and thetelephone 51, that is, the above converted setting data and the like arestored into the D₁ channel and transmitted. On the other hand, the D₂channel is a spare channel. The data transmission rates of the channelsare set such that 64 kbps is set for the B₁ and B₂ channels and 16 kbpsis set for the D₁ and D₂ channels. One transmission period of the burstis set to 125 μsec.

After the power source was turned on, the main CPU 17 executes thepolling to the extension telephone 51. When the extension telephone 51receives the polling, if the data to be sent to the main CPU 17 exists,the telephone 51 stores the data into the D₁ channel. The data which hasalready been decoded is also sent by the D₁ channel. That is, after thedata had been received from the electronic notebook 53 and theconversion into a predetermined format was finished, if the polling isreceived from the main CPU 17, the data is stored into the D₁ channel.If the received data is the setting data, the main CPU 17 updates thecontent at the corresponding memory location in the RAM 19 in whichvarious setting data has previously been stored. On the other hand, ifthe received data is the data for transmission, when the circuit totransmit relates to the analog network, a dial pulse or a dial tone istransmitted in accordance with the received data. If the circuit totransmit relates to the digital network, the SETUP message is sent inaccordance with the received data.

As mentioned above, various setting data can be easily and convenientlyset and transmitted.

In the above embodiment, since the data on the side of the telephonemain body can be transmitted to the electronic notebook, the data whichwas once transferred from the electronic notebook to the telephone sidecan be transmitted and registered to another electronic notebook. Thatis, a copying process of the electronic notebook can be also easilyperformed.

In the second embodiment, although the communication between theelectronic notebook and the telephone has been executed by thestart-stop synchronizing method of the electronic signal, the similareffect can be also expected by other method.

For instance, a construction to transmit and receive a photo signal isprovided between the electronic notebook 53 and the telephone 51 anddata can be transmitted to the telephone in a serial or parallel dataformat.

On the other hand, means for generating a voice frequency band signalsuch as MF signal, PB signal, or the like is provided for the electronicnotebook and data can be also sent by acoustic means.

The invention is not limited to the key telephone but can be alsoapplied to a single line telephone (SLT).

According to the embodiment, in a state in which the electronic notebookwas attached to the telephone main body, the key input data of thetelephone main body is transmitted to the electronic notebook and theelectronic notebook can be made operative on the basis of the key inputdata. Therefore, in such an attaching state, there is no need to operatethe operation buttons of the electronic notebook and the operability ina state in which the electronic notebook was attached to the telephonecan be improved.

On the other hand, with the construction in which the data on thetelephone main body side can be transmitted to the electronic notebook,the data which was once transferred from the electronic notebook to thetelephone main body side can be transmitted and registered to otherelectronic notebook. The copying process of the electronic notebook canbe easily executed.

Although the present invention has been described on the basis of thepreferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to the constructionsof the above embodiments but many modifications and variations arepossible within the spirit and scope of the appended claims of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A memory card capable of being connected totelephone, comprising:setting means for setting designation informationdesignating whether a line is a digital line or an analog line; memorymeans for storing therein the designation information; and transmissionmeans for transmitting the designation information stored in said memorymeans.
 2. A memory card according to claim 1, wherein said setting meanscomprises a keyboard.
 3. A memory card according to claim 1, whereinsaid transmission means comprises light emitting diodes.
 4. A memorycard according to claim 1, wherein the digital line includes an ISDN.